Meat-hook support



HHHHHHHH R. ME OOOOOOOOOOOO T, A lcation rod or bar of which the hook is made.

IlNrrEn STATES PATENT @Erica FRANCIS THACHER, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

MEAT- HOOK SUPPORT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 607,096, dated July 12, 1898.

Application filed October 4, 1897. Serial No. 653,909. (No model.)

To ttZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANCIS THACHER, of Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and uselful Improvements in Meat-Hook Supports;

and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the aceompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to an improvedconstruction in devices for supporting meat in butcher-shops and like places, and more especially to means for movably supporting meat-hooks upon a horizontal beam or rail.

The invention consists in the matters hereinafter described, and pointed out in the appe'nded claims.

vAs shown in the accompanying drawings, Figure lis a view in perspective of a supportingrail with my improved'meat hook thereon. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the sliding block by which the hook is immediately supported. Fig.` 3 is a cross-section through the rail and the supporting-block, taken in the plane of the hook. Fig. 4 is a detail view showing a construction in which the support is provided with antifrictionrollers.

As shown in said drawings, A indicates a horizontal rail such as is ordinarily used in butcher-shops to support a number of meathooks.

which immediately supports the hook and is .adapted to rest and slide upon the rail. Said block is made of U form to embrace the upper part of the rail and is made of considerable length, so that it may slide freely on the rail without liability of cramping or binding` thereon. The said hook is engaged with the block bymeans'of an integral shank B', which is made of inverted-U form, so as to extend around and embrace the upper part of the rail, and is preferably made by bending the The block C is provided in its upper surface with a transverse recess or groove C, adapted to receive the upper horizontal parts of the shank B', and the depending side portions or fianges C2 02 of said block are provided with vertical B indicates one of the hooks, and C a blockV hold the hook constantly in vertical position.

While the groove C' may extend at the sides as well as at the top of the supporting-block, I prefer to remove the metal entirely at the sides of the block, so as to form the slots 03, and at the same time to extend the connecting-web c, which connects the two parts of the sliding block at either side of the groove, somewhat beyond the side faces of the rail, Fig. 3, so that when the U-shaped shank of the hook is engaged with the groove it will fit closely against the front and rear edges of said Web c and will be held by the same free from contact with the front and rear faces of the rail. This construction obviouslyfacilitates the sliding of the supporting-block upon the rail by partially or wholly preventing the hook from being pressed against the rail by the Weight of the article placed on the hook, While at the same time any backward displacement of the hook at the time of placing a piece of meat thereon is prevented by 0011- tact of the hook with the front face of the rail if the hook be forced or pressed backwardly at such time.

In Fig. ft I have shown a form of supporting-block which in some respects is better than that shown in the other figures, said block in this instance being provided with antifriction-rollers D D, which are inserted in transverse slots formed in the, top part of the block and project slightly below the lower surface thereof, so as to bear against the top of the rail and support the' block free from contact with said rail. Said rollers obviously facilitate the movement of the block on the rail when there is a heavy weight on the hook by lessening the friction between the block and the top surface of the rail. r

The advantages of the construction described may be understood from the following: If the hook were made in the shape illustrated, Which is the usual form of such hooks, and used without any supporting-block, the shifting or movement of the hook along the rail with the meat suspended thereon-would be difficult, because the hook would be liable IOO to be turned or twisted on the rail in such manner as to catch or bind thereon, and thus become locked from movement. Moreover, thefrequent catching of an ordinary hook on the rail when pushed along the sane results in the indenting and roughening of the edge of the rail, so that the appearance of the latter is spoiled and it becomes so irregular that it may be very d ifficult to move or slide the hook upon the same. Moreover, the hook when merely hung upon the rail is not laterally confined and is liable to be thrown laterally out of position when attempting to hang thereon such a heavy load as a quarter of beef, it being obvious that such lateral swinging of the hook will often defeat efforts made to hang the load thereon. The sliding support made as described obviously affords a smooth and flat bearingsurface for contact with the top and sides of the rail, while the engagement of the hook with the lblock maintains the hook always at right angles with the rail, and thereby keeps it constantly in position to slide freely along the rail. The engagement of the hook with the depending side flanges of the block obviously prevents the hook from swinging sidewise, and thus greatly facilitates the placing of heavy pieces of meat upon the hook.

The advantages of giving lateral stability to the hook will be understood when it is considered that the rail is usually placed at a considerable elevation and pieces of meat, such as quarters of beef, areheavy and difficult to handle and are usually thrown forcibly against the hook to insure the hook penetrating the neat, and when the hook is held from lateral novenent proper engagement is rendered certain, even though the hook be struck somewhat on its side when the neat is thrown against it.

The employment of-antifrictiou-rollers in the top part of the sliding block has the obvious advantage of greatly reducing friction due to the weight of the load on the hook, and thus enables the hook to be very easily moved on the rail. For most purposes, however, the hook may be moved with sufficient ease by making the blockwith a snooth under surface, any cramping or catching of the block ou the rail being prevented by the length of the block and the presence of the lateral flanges thereon, as hereinbefore stated.

The block made as described may be very easily Land cheaply constructed and may be applied for use in connection with hooks already in use at a small expense.

Forthe purpose of avoiding' friction between the rail and the hook I place a metal strip F on the rail, said strip extending outside of the front face of the rail in position for contact with the rear or inner surface of the hook near the lower part thereof. Such strip is preferably attached to the rail by naking a groove in the rail and inserting the strip therein, with its front edge projecting slightly outside of the front face of the rail. Such strip is of especial advantage when there is a heavy load on the hook tending to press the lower part thereof against the rail, the strip in such case affording a hard and smooth edge along which the hook will readily slide.

I claim as my invention- 1. A supporting-block of U form adapted to engage the upper edge of a rail and provided in its depending flanges with vertical openings or slots to receive the vertical parts of the U-shaped shank of a hook.

2. A supporting-block of U form adapted to engage the upper edge of a rail and provided with a transverse recess or groove to receive the U-shaped shank of a hook; said block being provided in its depending flanges with vertical openings or slots, in line with said groove, to receive the vertical parts of the shank.

3. A supporting-block of U form, adapted to engage the upper edge of a rail and provicled with a transverse recess or groove to receive the U-shaped shank of a hook; said block being provided in its depending flanges with vertical openings or slots to receive the vertical parts of the shank, and the connecting-web beneath the groove being extended beyond the inner faces of the side flanges to hold the vertical parts of the shank free from contact wit-h the side faces of the rail.

4. The combination with a rail and a hook having a U-shaped shank, of a supportingblock of U form adapted to engage theupper edge of the rail, said block being provided in its depending flanges with vertical openings or slots to receive thevertical parts of said shank and with antfrictiou-rollers which engage the upper edge of said rail.

i face of the rail in position for contact with the hook.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as Vny invention l affix mysignature, in presence of two witnesses, this 30th day of September,

FRANCIS TIIACIIEllt.

lVitnesses:

C. CLARENCE Poona, WALTER THacHER.

IOO

IIO 

